POTD #93 250BBs deep with an Open-Ended Straight Flush Draw

My hand improves, but not in the way I'd like it to. (Photo: PokerNews)

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With all due respect to Triton Poker, which has faster structures, and the Super High Roller Bowl, which I rarely get to play as it’s usually hosted in the USA, the best structured SHRs that I regularly play-- the tournaments that are, to me, the gold standard of SHRs-- are the EPT three-day high rollers. You start off 250bbs deep, and max late registering still gives you over 40bbs. Levels are an hour long, and they do not speed up the clock at the final table so the tournament finishes early. Do I also enjoy them because I’ve won three of them and come second in two of them? No comment.

Playing 250bb-deep NLHE is very fun. Many of the SHR regs are good at playing deep-stacked NLHE, but they get so few reps in playing 250 deep that there is a lot of tricky poker where you need to problem-solve versus top players in spots you are both a little unfamiliar with. If you enjoy the thrill of competing versus the best, these early levels will scratch your itch. It does not compare to the exhilaration of playing a big final table with a lot of money up top, but as a pure poker challenge, it’s as tough as it gets. In today’s hand, I played a hand that looks pretty normal, but as is often the case when playing 250bbbs, deep appearances can be deceiving. Let’s see what I could have done differently.

EPT London £50k NLHE Level 1 (500/1k/1k) (SB/BB/BBA). 250k Starting stack

Juan Pardo raises to 2.5k in the LJ, I call 6♥️5♥️ in the BB

Flop (6.5k) A♠️7♥️4♦️: I check, Juan Pardo bets 1.5k, I make it 8k, he calls

Turn (22.5k) T♥️: I bet 28k, he calls

River (78.5k) 5♠️: I check, Juan Pardo checks and wins with A♣️3♣️